This is My Journey

Zed’s World–Rich Baker **Updated**

With terrorist attacks becoming more and more frequent worldwide there is a growing fear that a biological attack could be imminent. What if one of these terror groups did just that, developed a weaponized virus that had the capability of turning the human race into ravenous zombies? That thought keeps me up at night and Zed’s World taps straight into my worst nightmare.

Told from multiple points of view, Zed’s World follows the events before and after a biological attack by Jihadist fundamentalists, who have found a new way of spreading their message of death and violence. They have created a new army, an undead army. In terror cells across the globe, they are getting their soldiers ready to march, ready to spread their deadly disease to all that don’t believe.

Set in Colorado, the story follows a suburban father, two college boys, a former soldier and a sleeper agent who has grown to love his adopted country. Using the cover of a chaotic college town during graduation, the terrorists release their soldiers at various points around the town, anywhere people have gathered, including a graduation party where two of our heroes are celebrating the end of the college year.

Caught up in the gathering madness, childhood friends Ben Pucket and Keith Wallace take their friends and head to the one place they think they will be safe, their home town with their families. They could never have known how hard that journey would be, a normally short drive, it takes them to places they never thought they would go.

Meanwhile, their parents remain oblivious to the growing danger until it crashes into their safe suburban life and the need to survive suddenly becomes all important. A survivalist neighbour helps the group, giving them a safe haven to escape to.

In Denver Jason ‘D-day ’ Bowling finds himself in charge of the residents of his apartment building. With his background as a soldie, he is the only one with the knowledge that can keep the city dwellers alive, even when they complain about his rough riding over them, making them contribute food and labour to make the apartment building safe.

All though the Growing Hoards and Roads Less Traveled are short books they pack in a big story into the 6.29 hours of listening. At first, the narrator annoyed me, his voice is flat with little in the way of connotation but as the storyline takes over I found myself not listening to the voice but the story itself.

This is the sort of novel that nightmares come from, the threat is so real that I am really hoping the Jihad never get their hands on these books, they don’t need ideas on new ways to kill, they are doing more than enough of that as it is.

It is something I have thought a lot about, in fact, my own novel is based on something very similar (I got the idea long before I heard these books.) With the constant advances in science and terrorists always looking for more ways to kill, it is only a matter of time before someone decides a killer disease is the way to go. Forget nuclear war, the next big war will be fought in the secret labs across the world, not in government nuclear installations.

I would recommend this series to anyone, though I think I will be buying the books. I tend to take information in better if I read it and the narrator really could have been better, though his female voice is not too bad. The story is complex without being over the top, it is very realistic. Every thing that the characters go through is easy to picture happening. Normally having so many POVs can be confusing but because the books are short and each character or group get their own chapters you don’t have time to forget what each character is up to. The characters themselves are relatable, their pain, fear and frustration are very real and they have a very solid arc.

I would like to take this time to thank Rich Baker for sending me the audio books, I appreciate any author that is willing to let me read (or listen to) their hard work, I know how hard it is to share your baby with someone else and I admire anyone that is willing to send me a book to be reviewed.

I give this book 7/10, not because the story is bad but because the narrator was not as good as he could have been, though I imagine it’s not easy to find a good narrator.

Go to Amazon and get the books or audio books. The books are available on Unlimited if you subscribe and are well worth reading. I have just downloaded the final book No Way Out which I will review when I am finished.

I hope everyone north of the equator is enjoying their summer and those of us that are south aren’t too cold. Looks like rain here in Tasman, a great excuse to curl up by the fire with my kindle and a hot cuppa. Take care one and all and thanks for stopping by

Update

Book Three – No Way Out

**Spoiler Warning!**

Our wee group continues to grow when the Pucketts are joined by D-day and Carmen after they are forced to run from the apartment block when one of the residents lets the infected in. The team faces loses that nearly break them, and one person imparticular will have a major impact and cause more damage to the group than any that has come before. She will bring enemies to the door and what follows will be a devasting blow and cause more backlash than she realises.

I have just one complaint about this book, the next one isn’t out yet. Nothing I hate more than getting invested in a series and having to wait for the next book. I am way too impatient for that sort of thing lol.

I am really enjoying this series and can’t wait to find out what happens next.